Tuesday, April 19, 2011

04/19/2011
Noynoy is hellbent on laying all blame on his claimed political enemies for his and his administration’s failure to govern competently or even rid his government of corruption.

That he is hiding his utter failure as a leader and president of the republic by blaming his political foes and critics is fairly clear, especially when he continues with his hate campaign and directing all this against the Ombudsman, pressing her removal through a Senate conviction..... MORE

04/19/2011
Frankly, Noynoy Aquino is making a fool of himself while using graduation ceremonies and other forums to lash out at the Ombudsman and campaign for her conviction in the Senate.

He justifies this by claiming that he cannot introduce reforms and changes the system as long as the Ombudsman remains in position.

He is looking pretty foolish, especialy as he is president, to bleat against Merci in such forums, because, in truth, the conviction of Merci is, or should be, beyond him and his powers, if he respects and upholds the Constitution.

Evidently, Noynoy realizes that he may not have the numbers in the Senate with which to get Merci convicted, which is probably the reason he continues to go on a hard-sell hate campaign against Merci, in a bid to get the studentry or youth behind him in his quest to remove Merci from her post, through a Senate conviction..... MORE

04/19/2011
KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is unlikely to call snap elections after a bruising state poll in which his ruling coalition lost ground to the opposition in a traditional stronghold, analysts said.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition held onto its crucial two-thirds majority after Saturday’s vote in Sarawak but the opposition had its best result for nearly a quarter century in the resource-rich state on Borneo island.

The vote was seen as an important gauge of popularity for Najib, who has dished out money for rural development.

Some observers said it was the most crucial test for the BN since the 2008 general elections when the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and threatened the BN’s half-century grip on power..... MORE

04/19/2011
Dear Editor:
This refers to the story “Rice and Oil” published in the Daily Tribune dated April 13 under the column Frontline citing the warning of the “government spy agency” on the “shrinking rice supply that has become a national security concern.”

At the outset, we would like to emphasize that even the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) which is supposed to be the source of the report has reportedly denied coming out with the dire prediction on rice shortage. In any case, the supposed report was dated Feb. 20 this year, and a lot of actions have been done, both by DA and NFA since then. May we also point out that good weather conditions have augured well to an abundant summer crop rice production.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has said the country may even hit 7.6 million metric tons palay output for the summer harvest which is 15 percent more than last year’s 6.6 MMT palay output for the same period..... MORE

04/19/2011
In a book I read a few months ago, the author complains of “rule by a small elite – never democratic, often autocratic, usually plutocratic, and lately kleptocratic — all working with a tribal-feudal mind-set, “in the name of the people” with democratic camouflage. This small elite comprises feudal barons, tribal warlords, and politicians of all hues… Elections…involve shifting coalitions of different clans or tribes, negotiated by tribal or clan leaders, rather than appeals to independent voters. The system lends itself to incompetence and corruption, leading to poor governance. It creates the illusion of democracy because we do have elections; but we forget that elections are but a tool of democracy, not an end in themselves.”

Sound familiar? Maybe, but it’s Perez Musharraf writing of Pakistan in his 2006 memoir, In the Line of Fire..... MORE

04/19/2011
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Desperately poor Haiti is finding a cheap source of fuel in recycling human excrement, a move that could help put a dent in a cholera epidemic and slow the country’s pervasive deforestation.

The “biodigester,” which converts organic waste to biogas and a liquid fertilizer rich in nutrients, requires little infrastructure: Toilets linked to a sealed, brick-lined well connected to a basin. Seventy of these devices are up and running, while another 70 are in the works..... MORE

04/19/2011
For reason of short-sightedness, of hard-headedness or plain incompetence, on account of merely unwise advisories or downright selfish ulterior motives, Malacañang believes and wherefore accordingly acts on the assumption that the Filipino population is the problem and thus the culprit of national poverty, the cause of the present country-wide misery and socio-economic debacle.

Its simplistic thought and immediate option: Lessening the Filipino population automatically means national progress, equals development and prosperity. Reason: Big population is a curse. Small population is blessing. As far as the Filipinos are concerned, the more they are, the worse they become, the less they are, the better they emerge — specifically in terms of material abundance.

The following realities are thus conveniently ignored by Malacañang and cohorts: There are countries with less and less children, and wherefore with more and more aging people. Their recourse is to import more and more foreigners to man their trade and manage their industry. There are also countries that successfully led their citizens to have less and less population. Their governments are now doing everything for them to have more kids through different gimmicks and enticements. No wonder then that when certain individuals from such countries visit the Philippines, the mere sight of children is interestingly their big surprise and delight..... MORE

04/19/2011
Despite their being the principal accused, and deemed the most guilty, President Aquino, through his spokesman, Edwin Lacierda, said former Agriculture Secretary Luis “Cito” Lorenzo and Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante can become state witnesses but only if they can provide fresh evidence that can lead to the real perpetrators behind the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, evidently referring to their pointing to former president Gloria Arroyo as the brains in the scam.

Lacierda however said the decision is up to Lorenzo and Bolante if they want to consider the suggestion of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago to turn themselves in and cooperate with the government in its bid to find out the truth behind this six-year old controversy..... MORE

04/19/2011
Former President Joseph Estrada may no longer be in power, but he has not forgotten his natural constituents, the masses, who have never let him down.

Yesterday, the eve of his birthday, Estrada gave away 10,000 bags filled with canned goods, noodles and milk to indigent communities in Quezon City and Manila.

The gift giving ceremonies started in Payatas, followed by North Triangle in Quezon City then Baseco and Tondo in the afternoon.

At noontime the former President had lunch with the orphans at the Asociacion de Damas de Filipinas, an orphanage his late mother Mary Ejercito co-founded and which he helped rebuild when it burned down years ago. He has celebrated his birthdays and Christmases with orphans for the past 20 years..... MORE

President Aquino called her and the political opposition as “paranoid” and now sourgrapes, but it certainly looks like the former president is not about to take Aquino’s tirades against her sitting down.

Having finally broken her silence, Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo yesterday followed up her charge of the existence of a “vacuum in leadership” in relation to the Aquino government and his “student council” government, calling on her successor to start acting like a real president and work hard in resolving the country’s worsening problems..... MORE

Malacañang yesterday passed on to the judiciary the “pressure” it is receiving from various media and other press-oriented organizations concerning the resolution of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre and other political killings involving journalists that happened during the Arroyo administration.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the blame for the apparent slow action of the courts as regards to the Ampatuan trial should not be put on the Executive branch, arguing that it is already beyond the President Aquino’s jurisdiction once cases have been filed before the respective legal courts.

“I would also like to ask the journalists not to focus solely on the Executive branch. The cases are being handled by the judiciary and I think that you should exert some pressure on the judges to make sure that the cases are heard on regular basis. The blame should not be laid on the Executive branch solely,” Lacierda told reporters at a news conference..... MORE

04/19/2011
Never in my wildest dream as a newsman that I would write a requiem for the late Jose Leetai Pavia, a veteran journalist who was my mentor, adviser and confidant in my profession for the last 37 years.

I was devastated upon receiving a text message from Abel Ulanday, associate editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, that Joe Pavia, or JLP for short for his close friends, passed away at 5:25 a.m. Monday at the University of the East Medical Center in Quezon City. He was 72.

Pavia was the founding general manager in 1973 of the state-run Philippines News Agency (PNA), executive director of the Philippines Press Institute (PPI), and publisher-editor of the weekly Mabuhay..... MORE

04/19/2011
The operation of the bus company which was involved in the road accident involving a young actor from ABS-CBN may be suspended, the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board said yesterday.

Interviewed over dzIQ, LTFRB board member lawyer Manuel Iway said that the board was considering of slapping the Partas bus company with a 30-day suspension, after one of its buses figured in the accident that killed ABS-CBN talent Antonilo Joseph Perez better known as AJ Perez in Tarlac last Sunday..... MORE

The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday said that it received hundreds of text messages giving information that could led to the arrest of the suspects behind the abduction and attacking veteran actess Pilar Pilapil last week.

PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr., said that they are verifying the text messages to determine if there are leads that could give vital information to Pilapil’s attackers.

Cruz added that the text messages flocked following the release of a computerized artist sketch of one of the suspects..... MORE